Flash

a LO:SVU story

by RoadrunnerGER

Same ole song: I don't own them!

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, especially the last one. LOL I have no idea what was different with that one, but somehow it pushed me back into the story. Thanks. :D Happy New Year!

Ch 4

"Whoa!" Jaenicke jumped in his chair, pulling the headphone off and throwing it on the table. "Damn!"

Shocked the other cops stared at him. An upset negotiator was not a good sign.

That might be an understatement, Bobby thought. His insides constricted with the thought that they still did not know what was going on and if everyone still was in good health. So far they just knew that someone shot. They did not know if someone was injured. His fear for Alex and their twins corded up his throat.

Everyone concentrated on the cell phone, their sole connection to the bank. Screams sounded out of the speakers, yells of the men who held the people at gunpoint.

Mike grimaced remorsefully. So Bobby went the few steps over to him and squeezed his shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Mike," he murmured, barely able to control his voice. "I know how Alex can be. She was intent on getting that chicken and she wouldn't have stopped pestering you until you caved in. You left her because you were sure that she'd be okay. No one could know what would happen."

"You're not mad at me?" Almost pleadingly he looked into Bobby's brown eyes.

"I'm mad as can be… but not at you. You had no way to know, you're not a fortune teller."

"Bobby, you know, if I could change it I'd…"

"Stop!"

It was not only that he wanted to quit this discussion. He also wanted to follow the actions of Tippe and Jaenicke. So far they did not do anything than listen.

In the bank the screams continued. Everyone in there was on the edge of losing it. Out of the speakers the cops heard someone bark orders.

One of the monitors flickered, then another. The SWAT members had completed their first task. So the people in the mobile headquarters could not only hear but also see what was happening inside of the bank.

xxx

Alex screamed when the shot hit the phone. She did not even notice that it was her own scream that rang in her ears along with the panicked yells of the other hostages.

Instinctively she ducked, raising her arms to protect her head.

No! Don't do that!

That was her first coherent thought. Her insides constricted once more.

Don't cut the phone connection. The negotiator might be our only way out! Don't be that stupid!

She could imagine their colleagues gather in the truck with the command center. They would take over control of the air conditioning, would cut the bank's electricity… they would do everything they could to force the men into accepting deals, to get hostages out.

If Bobby's here yet? Alex wondered. He must be worried sick… and Mike will have to bear his wrath. Bobby will need an outlet for his fear for me and the twins and Mike leaving me in here will be a welcome reason.

In her belly she felt the kids squirm. They were due and sensing the stress of their mother they wanted out. Now.

"Aaaahhh!"

The cramp in her back made her first scream and then pant. Wrapping her arms around her swollen middle she rocked forward and back, trying to get the pain under control. Her spine hurt as did her pelvis. The kids were on their way.

Alex heard more screams and wails coming from the hostages, but she could not concentrate on what they were saying. Her twins kept her busy.

Then, for a moment, she forgot her labor, when she heard Elliot yell, too.

xxx

"What's going on in there?" Mike panted.

Carolyn put her hand on his forearm, trying to reign him in. He would not be of any help if he blew up and got kicked out by Tippe who still was in charge.

All they could hear through the cell phone was a jumble of voices, men and women screaming, yelling. Right then they could not distinguish who was saying what.

Jaenicke had picked up the earphones again, pressing them to his ears to try and make out single voices. The call phone's transmission was not as good as a police microphone would have been so he had to listen hard.

"They should go in now!" Tippe said. "We shouldn't take any risk and take them down! Now!"

"No!" Bobby protested. "You're not serious! You can't send SWAT in right now!"

"Do I have to remind you that you're not in charge here, Detective!" Tippe roared.

"Shut up! Both of you!" Jaenicke glowered at them. "You know what's going to happen if we attack now! We'd cause a massacre!"

That's what I meant, Bobby thought. If they see one sign of a police officer they're likely to freak and kill the hostages.

Tense silence settled over the truck, the air so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

God! Please let us make the right decision! Carolyn felt chills on her back. She knew Mike was hurting. He felt responsible even though he had no way to foresee what would happen.

"They're debating," Jaenicke said. "We should give them a second chance."

No one responded. Trusting the negotiator's experience, they let him make the decision.

Olivia remained surprisingly silent. After her earlier outbreak she went away with Maureen and EJ to get them to safety. She had to promise Elliot's daughter that she would keep her informed. That was the only way to make her settle down in a diner one block away. Now Olivia stood between the other detectives in the cramped truck, her stomach rumbling when she heard the panicked screams and barked orders of the hostage takers.

As the words were not understandable they only could guess what was said after a look at the monitors. They observed the men herding the people together in front of the counters. The clients and employers all were on the floor.

Bobby choked. He could see Alex. She was curling up, obviously in pain. It hurt him physically that he could not be in there to help her.

Olivia tried not to stare at her husband who was sitting on a chair near the pillars, cuffed, his legs bound. She forced herself to look at the whole scene and tried to predict what the men would do next. Then something else caught her attention.

xxx

Helplessly Elliot could only watch the men. After Green shot the telephone tumult broke out. Red roared at him, his voice barely perceptible in his rage. It was obvious that their leader and Green did not share the same opinion on how to deal with the police.

And that fact held an even greater danger than they already were in.

As the bank robbers started to argue over the shot, seemingly forgetting about the people around them, Elliot looked at Alex. She writhed with pain when another cramp hit her.

Seeing her suffer tore his soul apart. Having been with both his wives when they gave birth to his kids had made him as familiar with the kind of excruciating pain having a child could cause as a man could ever be.

The distraction stirred up the people. Some of them started to talk lowly. Their murmur did not go unnoticed by the gunmen.

"Keep your mouths shut!" Green bellowed, waving his gun at them. "Quiet! And keep your heads down!"

"Shut up yourself!" Red yelled. Stepping up to him he grabbed his jacket, telling him low enough for only him to hear, "And keep your temper!"

Green wound out of Red's grip, backing off of him. His view happened to fall on the teen boy who had tried to attack them earlier and now was about to cause trouble again, sneaking towards the backdoor.

Elliot's blood froze in his veins as he watched the scene enfold. How could he be so stupid? Didn't he realize that he was playing with death? Elliot's whole body yearned to jump up and take the boy down, hitting him hard. He deserved the pain for his lack of common sense. As his muscles tensed, the cuffs and cable bit into his joints.

"Hey! Kid! Where the hell are you going to?" Green shouted, raising his gun.

"No!" Elliot yelled even as he knew that he better kept his mouth shut.

He knew for sure when he saw the weapon trained on him. With two steps Green was beside him again and with a brutal blow with the gun against his head he threw him off the chair.

"Ugh!" Elliot groaned as he hit the floor, unable to catch his fall with his bound arms. Now he was in real trouble. Fear grabbed for his insides with an icy hand. Swallowing hard he fought not to let it show. Groaning again with pain he tried to shift his position.

He was stopped by a foot which shoved him on his back. Green towered over him, the gun aiming at his head.

Staring into the barrel, Elliot knew that his time was running out.

xxx

"No!" Olivia yelled.

She jumped forward, Munch grabbing her shoulders to hold her back because she was about to crawl into the monitor.

"God! Nooo!"

Jaenicke's hand flashed to the radio, ready to give SWAT the order to intervene.

They all stared at the monitor, tense, some of them entangled in each other arms, one stopping the other from tearing the equipment apart trying to get a better view.

"Do something!" Olivia demanded. "Get them out of there!"

"Just a second!" Jaenicke replied, putting his hand on hers, squeezing lightly.

"Yeah, a second…" Bobby mumbled. He had seen what the negotiator had spotted. Red was heading towards Green, shouting and gesticulating. It looked as if he was trying to stop his accomplice.

They were discussing. The atmosphere still was tense. People murmuring, the other hostage takers trying to shut them up.

"Oh, man!" Munch gasped. "Wish we could understand them better. It's still a jumble."

"Then I suggest that you'll keep quiet!" Jaenicke snapped. "Then I can listen better."

Munch frowned but backed off again. He still had one arm around Olivia's shoulders. Now she was leaning against him, seeking comfort. Mike held Carolyn in his arms and Bobby stood right next to them, not even feeling Carolyn's hand on his shoulder.

I have to get you out of there! God! Why did that have to happen? Why?! He quarreled with their destiny. There was no doubt that Alex was about to have the twins. What a nightmare! What happened to our plans? You waking me in the wee small ours to drive you to the hospital. You giving me lectures while squeezing my hand in agony when you're in the delivery room. You and me sitting together with our newborns in our arms?

A silent tear trickled down his cheek. It was a tear of pain, rage and mourning. His common sense told him that it was the best he could do to stay here in the command center. His heart spoke a different language. He wanted to be with Alex, no matter where she was or in which situation she was. The men with the guns were secondary. For him only Alex and their twins were important.

Having to watch helplessly did not suit him well. He wanted to do something for the hostages. He believed that he would be able to talk the men into surrender… he had done that before. But this time it was not his job. Jaenicke was the negotiator. He, Bobby, could only make suggestions… which the other man was not bound to accept.

With heavy heart and a rumbling stomach he watched how both men, Red and Green, turned at Elliot.

xxx

Still trying not to shudder with the fear he certainly felt when he stared up into the barrel, Elliot lay on his back, his bound arms trapped under him. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed movement to his left and when he squinted at it he saw the boy crawl back to the group. Squinting at his right, Elliot saw Alex, curled up, her arms wrapped around her swollen body. She was rocking forward and back, trying to ease the pain, her jaws clenched.

Elliot's muscles were hard. He was about to get a cramp, too, just not in his stomach but in his limbs. Desperately he tried to stop his bottom lip from quivering, but it did not work.

Ooooh, shit, he thought. Why did that have to happen? I want out of here!

Green bowed forward, the gun approaching. It touched Elliot's forehead, the muzzle pressing into the skin.

What the men were talking about was beyond him right then. All he could think about was the weapon pushed into his face, Alex in labor and a bunch of hostages.

It made him physically sick.

Dammit! I have to do… something! Just what?! God! Help me!

His prayer was not answered. Finally the group of hostages fell silent. Someone was sniffling, but they did not talk anymore. Above him Green and Red were still discussing. Still the muzzle bore into his skin, promising death.

"What do you wanna do?" Green asked heatedly. "Pamper him?"

"No! I just don't wanna shoot him, either. We shouldn't kill a cop… any cop… unless we have to defend ourselves."

"They sure as hell will try to get in here!"

"They won't… as long as we have the hostages." Red grinned wickedly. "One should be especially interested in our escape."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"Her husband, the major case detective. I wanna talk to her husband," Red nodded towards Alex. "He's our way out."

tbc…